Instacart: refund request
Report missing, damaged or wrong items in the app or website within 3 days; ask within 24 hours for a same-day refund.
What does this mean?
Grade A (high: almost everything comes from official pages read directly). 100% of 11 sources are the organization's own pages or government sites.
Collect
- order details
- photos of damaged or wrong items
- list of missing items
Steps
Open the order and choose Get help (app) or Report a problem (website). Do it within 3 days of pickup or delivery, and within 24 hours for a same-day refund.
AppReport a problem with an order (app Get help, or website Report a problem) App: select the order > Get help. Website: select the order > Report a problem Sign-in requiredChoose a refund to the payment method or a credit toward a future order.
If self-report does not work, contact Instacart support.
If Instacart does not refund an item you paid for and did not get, dispute the charge with your card issuer.
More contacts for this issue
Facts you can cite
- Deadline
Instacart accepts problem reports within 3 days of pickup or delivery (not for restaurant orders). For a same-day refund, request it within 24 hours of receiving the order.
Source: instacart.com, verified 2026-10-12
- Policy
For missing or damaged items, Instacart gives a refund or a credit toward a future order, up to what you paid for the item. Refunds are processed immediately, but the bank may take longer to show them.
Source: instacart.com, verified 2026-10-12
If that fails, escalate
Go up one step at a time. Keep the reference numbers and dates from each contact.
Customer service
AppReport a problem with an order (app Get help, or website Report a problem) App: select the order > Get help. Website: select the order > Report a problem Sign-in requiredCustomer service
Card or bank dispute
Fair Credit Billing Act billing-error and purchase-dispute rights (Regulation Z)
Electronic Fund Transfer Act error resolution and unauthorized-transfer liability (Regulation E)
State agency
Your state’s attorney general. Find it in the list of state agencies (also as JSON:
states/<code>.json, for example states/ny.json).Arbitration
MailNotice of dispute (Legal Department) Instacart, ATTN: Legal Department, 50 Beale Street, Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94105Signed written notice, then at least 60 days to resolve it before arbitration.
Watch out
- Order problem reports and Instacart+ cancellation need the customer signed in.
- Orders placed through a retailer's own app or website are handled by that retailer, not Instacart.
Let your AI agent handle this
Escalate Anything is a free, open-source MCP server for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI, Codex and other AI apps. Your agent gets this playbook, keeps a case log with reference numbers and follow-up dates, and drafts each message for you to approve.
1. Set it up (needs uv):
uvx escalate-anything setup2. Ask your agent:
Instacart owes me a refund of [amount] for [order or service]. Use Escalate Anything to get it.Source code, other install options and the Claude Code plugin